Reflections #2

Afternoon Light, Ruggles Station, Boston

Afternoon Light, Ruggles Station

Following the LIFE magazine exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, I was inspired to go out and see the world anew. As I waited for the Wickford train, I had time to wander around the Ruggles commuter train station. In the shadows of the more deserted area, I was smitten by the strong presence of backlighting which illuminated the passages, planes, textures, and shapes of the platform.

Initially, I printed the photo as a monochrome black and white image. The color values translated well into shades of gray, and I loved the contrast of the glowing light and shadows. But something was missing. The image is incomplete without color, which adds an emotional quality of warm, nostalgic light. Emotionally, color added an other-worldly welcoming glow over the stark architecture, balancing the grittiness and impersonality of the scene.

I once heard an interview with legendary National Geographic photographer Sam Abell, whose philosophy of composing a ‘street photograph’ was to create a strong graphic background, one that could exist as an image on its own and wait for a ‘decisive’ moment. Would the shadow of a passerby fill the bright space and strengthen the image? I struggled with this by asking ‘what is the kind of image I want to make’ by examining my initial attraction.

On the surface, the image is about making order in that complex space, with its passages, planes, and resplendent light. The subject is the substance of light, how it creates a sacred space amidst the concrete impersonal elements of a commuter rail station. There is a paradox; the warm intimate tone bathes a space where individuals, despite their proximity to each other, exist in alienation. A place that is designed to hold passengers is curiously empty…or is it? Intuitively, that warmth is energy radiating out in space. The space is not empty to me, it is full of promise and expectation. I stopped to savor the moment of this threshold, between light and dark, connecting, to the energy of light in its fullness.

In writing these Reflections, I am examining my motives for making photographs. I look for threads in light, subject, composition, emotion, and metaphor. What did I experience in that moment? In my journey as an artist, I strive to transcend the object; instead, what part of me am I trying to express? The chord that “Afternoon Light” resonates within me is without my being able to fully
articulate my feelings. Writing is helping immeasurably.

Fuji XT-4

23mm 1.4 lens

1/125 sec

f 2.8

ISO 200